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Detroit man pleads guilty to cyberstalking suburban Buffalo girls

From halfway across the country, James S. Allen used Facebook, Twitter and Skype to stalk underaged girls in Tonawanda, Depew and Amherst.

As part of a plea deal Thursday, Allen admitted contacting four local girls and coercing them into sexually explicit conduct that he recorded while hundreds of miles away in Michigan.

Allen, 38, of Detroit, pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and production of child pornography and will face a recommended sentence of up to 26 years in prison when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango said he was prepared to call 18 different victims as witnesses if Allen had gone to trial and that Allen avoided a potential life sentence by taking the plea deal.

“I know I’ve done wrong," Allen told Arcara, ”and the only way to rectify it is to stand here before you.”